Psalm 85
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Psalm 85
Prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favor
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin.Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.[a]
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.
Footnotes
- Psalm 85:8 Gk: Heb but let them not turn back to folly
Psalm 85
Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 85
To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
1 Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land:
thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people,
thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.
3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath:
thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
4 Turn us, O God of our salvation,
and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?
wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
6 Wilt thou not revive us again:
that thy people may rejoice in thee?
7 Shew us thy mercy, O Lord,
and grant us thy salvation.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak:
for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints:
but let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him;
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth;
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good;
and our land shall yield her increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him;
and shall set us in the way of his steps.
Psalm 85
New English Translation
Psalm 85[a]
For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.
85 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.[b]
2 You pardoned[c] the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave[d] all their sin. (Selah)
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger.[e]
4 Restore us, O God our deliverer.
Do not be displeased with us.[f]
5 Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations?[g]
6 Will you not revive us once more?
Then your people will rejoice in you.
7 O Lord, show us your loyal love.
Bestow on us your deliverance.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.[h]
For he will make[i] peace with his people, his faithful followers.[j]
Yet they must not[k] return to their foolish ways.
9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;[l]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.[m]
10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet;[n]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.[o]
11 Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.[p]
12 Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,[q]
and our land will yield[r] its crops.
13 Deliverance goes[s] before him,
and prepares[t] a pathway for him.[u]
Footnotes
- Psalm 85:1 sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.
- Psalm 85:1 tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shevut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.
- Psalm 85:2 tn Heb “lifted up.”
- Psalm 85:2 tn Heb “covered over.”
- Psalm 85:3 tn Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81. See Pss 69:24; 78:49.
- Psalm 85:4 tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).
- Psalm 85:5 tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”
- Psalm 85:8 sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.
- Psalm 85:8 tn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8).
- Psalm 85:8 tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.
- Psalm 85:8 tn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (ʾel), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish.
- Psalm 85:9 tn Heb “certainly his deliverance [is] near to those who fear him.”
- Psalm 85:9 tn Heb “to dwell, glory, in our land.” “Glory” is the subject of the infinitive. The infinitive with ל (lamed), “to dwell,” probably indicates result here (“then”). When God delivers his people and renews his relationship with them, he will once more reveal his royal splendor in the land.
- Psalm 85:10 tn The psalmist probably uses the perfect verbal forms in v. 10 in a dramatic or rhetorical manner, describing what he anticipates as if it were already occurring or had already occurred.
- Psalm 85:10 sn Deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss. The psalmist personifies these abstract qualities to emphasize that God’s loyal love and faithfulness will yield deliverance and peace for his people.
- Psalm 85:11 sn The psalmist already sees undeniable signs of God’s faithfulness and expects deliverance to arrive soon.
- Psalm 85:12 tn Heb “what is good.”
- Psalm 85:12 tn Both “bestow” and “yield” translate the same Hebrew verb (נָתַן, natan). The repetition of the word emphasizes that agricultural prosperity is the direct result of divine blessing.
- Psalm 85:13 tn Or “will go.”
- Psalm 85:13 tn Or “will prepare.”
- Psalm 85:13 tn Heb “and it prepares for a way his footsteps.” Some suggest emending וְיָשֵׂם (veyasem, “and prepares”) to וְשָׁלוֹם (veshalom, “and peace”) since “deliverance” and “peace” are closely related earlier in v. 13. This could be translated, “and peace [goes ahead, making] a pathway for his footsteps” (cf. NEB).
Psalm 85
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 85[a]
Prayer for Divine Favor
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.
I
2 You once favored, Lord, your land,
restored the captives of Jacob.(A)
3 You forgave the guilt of your people,
pardoned all their sins.
Selah
4 You withdrew all your wrath,
turned back from your burning anger.(B)
II
5 Restore us, God of our salvation;
let go of your displeasure with us.(C)
6 Will you be angry with us forever,
prolong your anger for all generations?(D)
7 Certainly you will again restore our life,
that your people may rejoice in you.
8 Show us, Lord, your mercy;
grant us your salvation.
III
9 [b]I will listen for what God, the Lord, has to say;
surely he will speak of peace
To his people and to his faithful.
May they not turn to foolishness!
10 Near indeed is his salvation for those who fear him;
glory will dwell in our land.
11 [c]Love and truth will meet;
justice and peace will kiss.(E)
12 Truth will spring from the earth;
justice will look down from heaven.(F)
13 Yes, the Lord will grant his bounty;
our land will yield its produce.(G)
14 Justice will march before him,
and make a way for his footsteps.
Footnotes
- Psalm 85 A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9).
- 85:9 The prophet listens to God’s revelation, cf. Hb 2:1.
- 85:11–13 Divine activity is personified as pairs of virtues.
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